Small World or Big Coincidence?
by The Ren
Summary: Sebastian, Myrddin, and Brennan return, introducing yet another surprise. Takes place immediately after Learning the Truth. Based on a RPG on GaiaOnline.
1. Chapter 1

Sebastian looked at his shoulder where Brennan had hit it. There wasn't a bruise on his shoulder, but it was a little sore. He sighed in frustration. _Yes, definitely too old for this_. Myrddin wasn't there. He had left Sebastian a note saying Melissa had called and needed him to watch the twins for her this evening. It didn't need to be written that Myrddin was upset that he didn't find the two in Quin's bedroom. _No, Brennan. Damnit it's going to be hard to call her that after calling her Quin for so long_. Sebastian thought bitterly.

She had been right that he had gotten dirty in the scuffle. A quick shower had changed that quickly and now he was walking around in a bathtowel wondering what to wear. _Ah, screw it_. He thought sourly. He walked to the living room and picked up the leopard print bathrobe that Quin/Brennan had dropped and donned it, tying it around his waist. He walked back to the bathroom and tossed the towel in the hamper before walking back to the living room and propping his feet up on the footstool.

He was waiting for Brennan to show up, but became engrossed in _Dr. Who_. Myrddin had changed the channel before leaving. When the show went off and there was still no Brennan, Sebastian cursed and stood, stalking to the bathroom she had retreated into to get cleaned up. He could hear the water going, but he wasn't going to be fooled twice. The door was unlocked so he opened it and entered it. It was like stepping into a steaming jungle, and the shock going from cold to steaming hot made him gasp a little. "Brennan?"

There wasn't any answer, and he walked over to the shower and slid open the door. He at first didn't register what he was seeing. Then he wanted to scream in frustration. Taking a breath, he shook his head, disrobed and stepped into the shower. He turned down the hot water and turned on the cold. It was a wonder she hadn't scalded herself and her damn wound with how hot it was. Temperature didn't bother him, but he knew hot when he felt it. The steam had welded itself onto his body the moment he entered the room, but even the water could not wash the stickiness of it off.

"Quin." Sebastian said firmly and nudged her with his toe. "Quit being emo."

"Thought you said you were gonna call me Brennan?" she replied muffled from her spot turned away from the shower head. She knew he had stepped in the shower with her, and she was mortified. She had been sitting under the shower and was just thinking of what she wanted to learn. She hadn't even heard the door open, much less the shower. All of a sudden it was Poof! there he was, and changing the water to a colder temperature. It wasn't really that hot, was it? She looked down at her blood red skin. _Okay, maybe it is a little too hot..._

"Brennans do _not_ act like you." Sebastian said in the same tone, crouching down behind her.

"Must be my Firewhisky Nazi side. And I'm not being emo. I was just thinking." Brennan muttered, not daring to glance over her shoulder.

Sebastian frowned. "You've been thinking for over thirty minutes. Anything in particular?"

Brennan was silent a moment, restraining herself from sarcastically blurting out, "How Myrddin and you look together in bed." Then she blushed when she realized she really DID want to know how that looked. So, she instead opted for lying, "No. Not really."

"Liar." Sebastian growled out immediately. "What are you thinking, Quin?"

"That I'd rather be standing than talked down to. I just lost track of time, okay?" Brennan said softly. She unfolded her legs, rocking backwards slightly and making Sebastian step backwards for her to get her feet. She was just standing when her feet slipped from under her. She was fast going down when Sebastian caught her and brought her to her feet. She froze in his arms, her heart leaping to her throat. _It doesn't mean anything, it doesn't mean anything.._ she thought to herself.

Sebastian couldn't help it. He immediately rushed forward to catch her before she fell, and caught her under the arms and drew her to him. She was burning hot from the water, and he didn't even realize how precarious the situation was until he felt her tense against him. Against... ALL of him. He had forgotten he was entirely nude, and so was she. "Oh for Christ sakes. You need to get laid and laid _WELL_." He snapped suddenly. If possible, she became even more tense, feeling more like an oak log than a human. He sighed, "There's no reason for you to be so tense. And you do realize, even with you standing, I'm talking down to you?"

Brennan stood stock still while Sebastian was holding her. He wasn't holding her that tightly, but her brain was having a small meltdown after him saying she needed to get laid. The first thing that jumped into her mind was, "Are you offering?" She felt very odd about saying that to him. He was related to her, after all, and in a relationship with Myrddin. What disturbed her more was that she wasn't as opposed to it as she would have thought. As much as she would have liked to ask, she just replied woodenly, "Let me go, Sebastian. You've picked me up."

He complied and set her down and she turned to face him, pointedly not looking down. Many thoughts were firing through his mind. He loved Myrddin, but as frustrating as Brennan's was, he liked her personality. And she was his descendant, very far down the line. It wouldn't really be considered incest that much if he...? And she really needed to learn the funner side of intimacy. Other than Myrddin, there wasn't anyone he would trust with that task, and Myrddin he knew wouldn't touch her with a 50 foot pole with a bayonet on the end of it. Now was the perfect time, if any. Bending down and raising her head, he kissed her lightly on the lips.

Brennan's eyes widened at his kiss and felt a shiver go through her. She tried to tell herself that it was just that he was blocking the warm water, but instead she broke the kiss and stepped back to hit the wall. "What the hell?!" she shrieked.

Sebastian smirked as she stepped back. He expected that, considering all her previous experience. "Do you want me to show you how to relax in the best possible way?" He asked and held out a hand to her before she slipped and really had no choice but to look up.

"Gkh! Ghk!" Brennan couldn't manage to get out a coherent reply. On one hand, she was in a panic mode of scared, on the other she was in a panic mode of estatic. Finally, she managed to get out a word that was unmistakeable, "Myrddin?!"

"He is out at the moment. Once I explain the situation, he'll be sulky, but will get over it." Sebastian's smooth, calm voice beat out and he stepped closer to her.

"No! He'll kill me!" Quin screeched back. His voice would melt her resolve if he didn't kiss her before it faded entirely. With those words, Sebastian's face was in hers again and kissing her lightly, nipping her lower lip as he pulled back.

"He'll have to get through me first." The whisper was a dangerous growl that had Brennan's eyes widening in awe and fear.

"But.. but.." Quin's words faded and she whimpered. She wanted this, but she didn't want it!

Sebastian's eyes faded into the distance before he smiled wickedly and came back into focus. "Well, if you like, but you'll be sore for a few days..."

"Sqwah! Gkh! NO!! I didn't mean... Damnit!" She squawked. Her eyes were filled with panic, and she looked away from him. She was clinging to the wall like a drowning man would cling to a life raft, but that wouldn't hold him off. It was amazing she wasn't hyperventilating, but that was probably only because she had had carnal thoughts about him since... well, pretty much since they first met. She couldn't help wonder if her thoughts would measure up to the real thing. Quite suddenly her face was looking back at his and his lips were on hers again, this time his tongue darting into her mouth and touching her own with the tease of lust. He had came a step closer and was right beside her and for once she was glad as her legs buckled beneath her and he held her up in his strong arms. This time it was he that pulled away.

"So you'd prefer it missionary style, or perhaps one of the other styles I've had the chance to learn in my long life...?" Sebastian's eyesbrow raised in question, his voice as calm as if he'd asked her "Chinese or pizza tonight?"

"You are not going to let me say no on this, are you?" Quin breathed out shakily.

"You do trust me not to hurt you, don't you?" Sebastian purred softly. He held her in one hand and brushed back her hair behind her ear, lifting her face to his again since she had broken their gaze.

"I... Well..." Brennan stopped and frowned. "There's no way I can answer that and be truthful." To her surprise, Sebastian looked as if he'd just been slapped and his gaze became thoughtful.

"Now, that was meant to be a yes or no answer." He whispered coldly. Then to her surprise, he bodily picked her up and swung her around into the shower water and then against the shower knobs. He stayed with her this entire time so she had him in front of her and the knobs digging into her backside. Her yelp of pain was squelched by his mouth on hers. Beginning to wonder how Myrddin could handle this kind of abuse, she dug into Sebastian's arms with her fingernails until he eased up on her lips and let her breath.

"Knobs! In backside!" It came out sounding a far more pitiful whine than she had wanted. She put her hands behind her and found one.

"Would you like one in the frontside too?" Sebastian's seductive voice was starting to be scarier and scarier.

"Hell no! I think you need to cool off!" The hand grasped the handle she thought was the cold, and she turned it hard - only put the hot water on blast instead. There was a hiss of steam, one from Sebastian, and even Brennan thought she gasped from the blast of hot water. Sebastian's grasp let her go and she banged against the knobs again before she was on her feet and opening the shower door dripping wet and stumbling out. She didn't even bother to get the skort set she had decided to wear, she just took off running towards the door and out it.

Quin knew if Sebastian wanted, he could catch up with her and call it a night entirely. But he did not pursue her and she was back at her room in a moment buck naked and she slammed and locked the door. She was panting in panic and shivering from the thrill of being kissed by Sebastian. The shivering could have also been in part from the freezing room temperature. Taking a deep breath, she moaned and realized she had left her clothes in the bathroom.

"Damnitall on a pogo stick." Quin growled bitterly, going over to her dresser to scrounging out a pair of ratty shorts and cutoff shirt and another set of underclothes. After pulling them on, she huffed and stretched out on the bed. _Just my luck that a hot, sexy vampire is interested in me and he's my umpteenth great-grandfather and commited to someone else!_


	2. Chapter 2

It took Brennan only an hour to decide she couldn't stay with Sebastian and Myrddin any longer. She might have fun needling Myrddin about his femininity, but after this there would be some really uncomfortable periods of silence. She got up and gathered the clothes she knew she could carry and use and dumped out the bag of new clothes. She took a mental inventory and nodded at what she had gotten before getting on her own shoes. _Maybe I can beg for my old job back. It really wasn't half bad_, she thought to herself as she opened the door. And stopped. Sebastian was standing there in his bathrobe, taking up the entire doorway.

"Going somewhere?" he asked coolly. "I thought we were going to talk in the living room." Quin couldn't tell for certain, but she could have swore she heard a bit of smugness in his voice.

"Yeah. Just a little place called Away from Here." she snapped back.

"Now why would you want to be doing that, Brennan?" Sebastian purred back. She tried to step past him, but looked down when she almost stumbled over the bags of clothes she had left in the living room earlier.

Brennan looked up and snapped. "Well, considering you just attacked me in the bathroom, I think it's a better option than staying!"

"I did what now?" Sebastian said looking his hardest to look innocent.

_Damn if you don't look like an angel fallen to Earth!_ Brennan thought to herself, glaring daggers at him. "You know damn well. And unless you have an evil twin that's also a vampire, you can't convince me it wasn't you!"

The evil stares just rolled off his back and he shrugged. "It isn't like Myrddin would believe you anyway."

"Ghk!" Brennan caught herself, and bit her lip. _He's right. Myrddin wouldn't believe me. Damn him!_ "That's beside the point! I'd know. You'd know. And _he'd_ know because lovers just KNOW that kind of thing about their partners! And he'd _KILL ME_!" she hissed back at him.

Sebastian leaned down in her face, blocking her way out fully. "And as I said, he'd have to get through me to do it."

"All Myrddin would have to do is put some poison in my food and claim it was food poisoning. You can't test food for me, Sebastian." She hissed back, inching forward nose to nose with him.

"I'll keep that in mind." Sebastian's eyes were twinkling in that mischievous way again and he leaned forward and kissed her teasingly on the lips.

Brennan couldn't help it, she saw red when he kissed her this time. She was trying to talk sense into him, but if he kept kissing her like that, she'll eventually just say "Yes!" - and loudly! She pulled away and slapped him, crouching down and glaring again. "You said I was the one needing to be sexed up - look who's making passes at their umpteenth-granddaughter _and_ has a boyfriend! Where is he, anyway? Whatever he's doing can't be more important than sexing you up!"

Sebastian smirked at her slap and stood to his full height. It hadn't even stung, but he rubbed his cheek anyway for show. "He is watching the twins at Melissa's request. She had to work."

"Wait, what? Backup! Twins? Melissa? Did he get cuddlebumped by a girl when I wasn't watching?" she paused, "Wait. Bad choice of words on that last sentence. Who's Melissa and why would he watch her twins?"

Sebastian raised one elegant eyebrow. "Oh, I forgot you weren't around for that little escapade. The short version is that Myrddin had a little adventure without his knowledge and she got pregnant and had twins."

"Ghk! Wha?! Myrddin.. and a girl?!" Brennan seemed lost in that thought. "That's like finding out that Elton John is really straight." She shook her head. "Well, what are we waiting here for? Let's go. I'll do the babysitting, and you two can get to cuddlebumping."

"Are you sure you don't want...?" Sebastian asked, and received a punch on his leg close to his privates for an answer. It didn't hurt but he decided to err on the side of caution with her so close to his sensitive area. With a smirk he nodded. "Alright then," he said curtly before disappearing to get on real clothes.

She paused and watched him disappear before bringing the bags of clothes into the room. She quickly brought her own clothes down to the car and put it in the backseat. When they get to wherever Melissa's was, she'd take off walking. She was just walking back into the house when Sebastian showed up jangling keys and in a stunning outfit. A stunning deep blue shirt tucked into tight blue jeans accentuated his form well, and boots on his feet and a black leather jacket completed the ensemble. She couldn't help it, she felt a little twinge of longing in her stomach. Unable to stop herself, she exclaimed, "Holy crap! You look hot!"

Sebastian smirked and preened himself under her compliment. "Why thank you. I know I do. I wish I could return the compliment." He chuckled deeply and looked her over. "You're going to get cold in that, you might want to change into something.. warmer." His predatory grin had her gulping and wanting to go running past him lickety-split back to her bedroom and locking the door.

"Uh... We.. we are taking the car, aren't we?" Quin asked with wide eyes.

"No, I thought we'd take the cycle out. It's been a while for her, and besides, Myrddin took my favorite ride." Sebastian replied evenly, enjoying Brennan's look of fear. He had no intentions of taking the car - it was too easy to bring extra luggage and he was determined to keep her with him as long as possible by denying her ways to escape.

"Cycle?!" Brennan squeaked out. Then she recovered her senses. No use showing fear until she was actually on it. "Yeah, took your favorite ride in more ways than one. What I'm wearing'll be fine."

Sebastian shrugged, then led the way out the door, locking it behind him and led the way to the motorcycle. He straddled it easily and motioned behind him. "Get on." It wasn't a question, but an order. He cranked the motor and revved it before looking at her with elegantly raised eyebrows, tossing her a helmet.

_A test, this is a test! Oh em effe gee!_ Her eyes blazed in challenge and she plopped the helmet down on her head and strapped it before climbing onto the cycle behind him. Feeling accomplished, it didn't last long as he started rolling it backwards and pointed it towards the highway.

"I suggest you hang on." Sebastian said loudly over his shoulder. He didn't give her a chance to do so before he revved the motor and started to speed down the highway.

She was just about to ask "Why?" and "To what?!" when she felt the cycle lurch beneath her rump and she screamed and clung to the only thing she could think of - Sebastian. Within a few seconds, she knew why he had suggested she change her clothes. With the wind whipping by them at 60 and 70, it was really, really cold. And Sebastian was the one with the leather jacket on and he said he didn't mind the cold. _Liar, Liar!_ she thought bitterly as she huddled underneath his flying hair.

It seemed like an eternity later to a freezing Brennan when Sebastian finally slowed and stopped the cycle. Her teeth were chattering and her body was shivering uncontrollably. She glared at Sebastian when he took the helmet off her head because she couldn't with her numb hands.

His voice was definitely amused when he said, "I did warn you that it would be cold." If looks could kill, the one that Brennan sent his way would have fell an entire army of vampires. He smiled and laughed, taking off his jacket and wrapping it around her. "Come on, I'll even help you if you want." He held out his hand to her, expecting her to take it, but she only kept her hands folded under her arms as she shivered.

"N.. numb!" She finally managed to spit out. "D.. damn you!"

He rolled his eyes and snorted. "You're the one that wanted to come here. I simply provided the most efficient way here."

"Hello?! Car!" Brennan squawked out as she shivered, finally getting enough feeling in her body to swing her leg over and hop off the cycle. She clung to the jacket rebelliously as he touched its back as if asking for it back.

"We're here now. No use fussing about it, now is there?" Sebastian grinned, being quite entertained by her conniption. He guided her to the stairs and they climbed them together - she getting there faster than him because she was practically running up them. She was tapping her foot impatiently by the time he climbed the stairs. He dallied down the hallway, seeming to not know which apartment was hers, but knew he couldn't keep the charade up much longer. Finally he knocked on the door and he heard running feet on the other side. The door was swung open and two smaller version of Myrddin appeared.

"AAH! IT'S THE GIANT!" They screamed together after a moment.

"Ahh! It's cloned midgets!" Brennan screamed back, surprised at the sudden appearance of the two. One of them kicked her before ducking and running back into the apartment as she yelped, "WHY YOU!" and started past the other one to chase the one that kicked her.

"Hello children." Sebastian said with a grin on his face, a little delayed by Brennan's reaction.

"Sebastian?!! What are you-" Myrddin's voice could be heard further in the apartment then, "Ahh!! QUIN!" Muted squabbling could be heard from the same direction and Sebastian looked at the other twin.

"May I come in?" Sebastian asked politely. At the silent invitation by the other twin, Sebastian walked in and the door was closed behind him by the other twin, Tobias, he believed he was called. He walked towards the disturbance, which led to the kitchen. The other twin, Morgan was hiding behind Myrddin while Quin was arguing at his deadpanned boyfriend.

Myrddin was doing his best not to laugh at Quin. She was wanting him to scold the twin, but after hearing the introductions at the door, he was wanting to congratulate his son for getting away with kicking her. "Well Quin, if you hadn't of called him a midget, I'm sure that he wouldn't have kicked you."

"I've been called midget before and there's no reason to be so _rude_ to someone that was trying to be nice. They're the ones that called Sebastian a giant!" she was glaring at the six year old version of Myrddin.

"If I recall, you called me that too, when we first met. I believe your exact words were 'Jolly Green Giant without the green.'" Sebastian interjected with a grin.

"Hey, that's a good one." Tobias said sarcastically. "Where'd you go to school? Puns for the Dumb Elementary? And what kind of name is Quin? Don't you have a normal one?"

"You little brat!" she said in a huff, crossing her arms. "Quinn's my last name. The name's Brennan to you."

Myrddin raised his eyebrows at Sebastian and mouthed, "Brennan?" in question. Sebastian nodded in reply. "Huh. Okay." Myrddin paused, remembering what he was doing in the kitchen - cooking a snack for the two kids. "Okay! Everyone! OUT OF THE KITCHEN! Now!" He pointed indignantly towards the living room until everyone had marched out and he was able to finish the snack and brought it out for the two kids.

Sebastian had already corralled the two twins on one side of him and had Quin/Brennan on the other side. She had her legs and arms crossed, a very unhappy expression on her face. They were in a silence until the snack was finished.

"You know, I had wanted to offer babysitting services so you and Sebastian could have some quality time, but after meeting these two terrors, I think I want to make that a literal service." Brennan finally growled, glaring daggers at all four men in her presence.

The two twins looked absolutely horror-struck and looked at Myrddin with the puppy eyes that begged him, "Please don't leave us with her!" He could honestly not blame them. After that declaration, he wouldn't want to be alone with her either.

"I think it's time they went to bed anyway." Myrddin said pointedly with raised eyebrows. "I've already let them stay up later than their mom wanted them to."

"But we aren't tired!" the twins whined together.

"If your mom gets back from work and you guys are still awake, she'll never let me babysit again." Myrddin said patiently, obviously having gone over this conversation many times.

"You could always blame it on her!" Tobias said, pointing at Brennan. She raised her eyebrows at Tobias. _Cheeky little prick for a six year old.  
_  
"Tempting as it is, I don't think that's such a good idea." Myrddin said, catching Brennan's questioning gaze at the twin.

"Oh, no. That'd be fine. I've been made a scapegoat before, Myrddin." Brennan said coldly. "Go ahead and let them stay up." The twins looked at her in shock, obviously not expecting that to be said, and she grinned very wickedly. The twins exchanged looks, then looked at Myrddin.

"Uh, on second thought. G'night Myrddin! G'night Sebastian!" the two ran off to their bedrooms, not even giving a second glance back. There was a breath of silence before Myrddin whistled.

"That's the fastest I've ever seen them agree to go to bed. How'd you do that?" Myrddin asked.

"Sometimes, you just got to have.. an understanding." Brennan smirked and looked to where they disappeared. "You have to sleep sometime, and now I know _where_ you sleep!" she said loudly and cackled.

Sebastian and Myrddin exchanged looks of extreme distress for this new side of her, "Uh, Brennan? Are you okay?" Sebastian asked a little concerned.

"Oh peachy-keen, jelly bean." Brennan broke her gaze and looked at him with a grin in a normal tone. "That's just my version of intimidation. It's pretty fun when they don't know exactly how crazy you are. It was helped out with me going berserk over being kicked."


	3. Chapter 3

Sebastian and Myrddin were chatting animatedly about something or other while Brennan just watched them amused as her own mind wandered. She recognized this area. Pirate Jack's was just around the corner. She could really go for one of their burgers at the moment, and while she was there, she could beg for her job back. Her eye traveled over to the two men and she stood. "I'm going to Jack's. I'm hungry."

"Wait - where?" Myrddin asked. Sebastian looked at her with the same question on his face.

"Jack's. All-night burger joint around the corner. I'll come back, it ain't like I can get lost here." She shrugged and her attention was drawn as the two midget clones burst out of their room - still fully dressed. She smirked thinking, _Typical_.

"Can we go?" they asked in unison. They had the wide bright eyes of innocent that couldn't fool anyone.

"Aren't you supposed to be asleep?" Brennan asked with humor in her eyes. She didn't blame them for not sleeping. Just because you're in bed doesn't mean you have to sleep.

"Aren't you-"

"supposed to-"

"be in your-"

"cage at the-"

"ZOO?" The two twins were alternating between each other in the sentence, joining together for the last word.

"Since they let you go from the circus, I thought the zoo wouldn't miss me for a few hours." Brennan replied blandly to earn a glare from the twins. She raised an eyebrow and looked at Myrddin, "They do that often? That's kinda creepy. So what d'you say? I'm all for taking them there, but I have to do something else while I'm there and won't be able to watch them."

"Yeah. Once you get used to it, it isn't so bad." Myrddin shrugged. "Melissa will be mad if she finds out. It might not be such a good idea."

"Just what exactly do you have to do?" Sebastian asked curiously.

Brennan shrugged, ignoring Sebastian's question. "Unless she's there herself, she won't be any the wiser." She grinned and looked at the twins, who had started to edge nearer the three adults. "You want to go get in your jackets or something warmer? It's a little cool out there." They stood stock still, and she shoo'd them with her hands. "And shoes. Go." She turned her attention back to Myrddin. "Look, I know it's late and they're supposed to be asleep. But they're obviously not sleepy. A little exercise will tucker them out, easy. I bet you end up having to carry them back."

"Nuh-uh!" they said from behind the couch, already having put on the requested articles of clothing. Brennan jumped from the sudden sound of their voices and spun around.

"Sneaky little guys!" she screeched, then paused with an evil grin. "You know, you're both kind of cute. Don't make me bite you."

"They're younger than you, Brennan. Don't bite them." Myrddin said with a roll of his eyes.

Brennan broke her gaze and looked over at Myrddin with a shrug of her shoulders. "Why not? You're younger than Sebastian and he bites you." There was a combined snort from the two men, and Brennan looked behind her at Sebastian's face. It had twisted into a chagrined, but extremely happy look. She wheeze-laughed before adding, "Guilty pleasure, ain't it?" She yipped and sidestepped his raising arms to vault over the couch and land beside the twins. "Well, I never!" laughing again. "I'm still going to Jack's. Whether you guys join me or not is up to you." She looked at the twins with a wink, "I suggest convincing them." She quickly retreated to the door, opening it with a pirate-y scream of "Avast ye scurvy seadogs! Hoist the mainsails! Land ahoy an' dar be Jack's!" and a cackle. She closed the door behind her gently, but Sebastian could hear her running down the hallway to get to the stairs.

Myrddin looked at Sebastian, "I think you telling her you-know-what made her loose a few screws in that head of hers."

Brennan was jogging down the street in no time, heading without err to the last place she worked. It couldn't be missed - it was right on the corner, and the decor inside could be seen proudly displayed. Pirate Jack's was a theme diner - a pirate theme. Except for a couple of the waitresses, the entire staff dressed in pirate attire. It was two blocks there, and she had worked up a nervous sweat over asking for her job back. The mechanical parrot squawked when she entered the door, "Avast ye scurvy seadog! RAWRK!" She couldn't help but grin as she heard a familiar voice call out from the back, "Be righ' thar te keelhaul ye, briny barnacle!"

She headed towards the back, almost fainting with joy over the smell of burgers in the air. She hollered back, "Arr Matey 'Lissa! Capt'n Jackie 'round? I gots business to tend tah wi' 'im!" There was a pause before a familiar brunette stuck her head out from behind the kitchen door.

"Quin?! What are you doing here? I thought you were dead!" her fake pirate accent was dropped. "That guy you went out with showed up dead on the docks, and then you called in, then just stopped. Jackie was so upset, he was almost in tears." Lissa had come out from the back and wrapped her arms around Brennan in a hug. Lissa was dressed in modest cutoff shorts with a ragged T-shirt tucked into it, playing the part of 'Castaway.'

Brennan laughed as she returned the hug, "Reports of my death have been exaggerated, but not by much. And my name is Brennan now, seems it was that from the beginning, really. Quinn's my last name. With two N's, can you believe it?"

She cracked up laughing at that, "Quinn with two N's? You mean your nametag was correct before you scratched off that extra N? How did you not know that before?"

"Seems that it was correct, but it's not now!" Brennan laughed shortly. "But I really need to talk to Jackie. He here?"

"Same as always when it's slow, in the bathroom with his crossword. Come on." Lissa and Quin disappeared into the back of the diner. There, they knocked on the employee-only WC and waited for Jackie to finish up.

"What are you doing around here, really?" Lissa asked. "You had to have a good reason for not showing up or you wouldn't risk gettin' Jackie mad at you."

"Well, when that guy showed up dead, that's when I started calling in. Those guys that started coming in on an hourly basis for two days - you ever get their names?" Brennan asked.

"Nah, I never spoke with them, personally. They creeped me out with the wrong vibes. Angie said they were policemen with badges and everything though. They were asking about you in particular though. It seemed weird to me why they'd be looking for you if they were police." Lissa shrugged, as if saying, "But what do I know?"

"Uh-huh. That's what I thought. The M-O-B. They must've got where I worked from the guy before they iced him." Brennan said calmly, looking at the restroom willing Jackie to come out.

"The Mob?! Girl, what are you doing here then? What if they're still watching this place?" Lissa shrieked.

"When was the last time you saw them, really? If they're M-O-B, they're pretty Ob-Vi-Us." Brennan snorted and rolled her eyes. "Why're you and Jackie the only one working tonight?"

"Well, you're the only one who wanted this shift. Keisha was supposed to come in, but she called and said she got sick. I think she's faking it, or got pregnant again. Lord knows she doesn't need any more mouths to feed." Lissa replied with a shrug.

Brennan nodded, then her attention turned and she smirked as Jackie backed out of the bathroom waving his crossword. And _that_ was the reason she used the customer's bathroom. He had a piece of toilet paper stuck to his foot too. "Got tissue on your tootsies," she said calmly with a grin.

Jackie swerved around and swayed like a seasick peasant. "QUIN?! You have alotta nerve showin' up here!" He looked down and saw she was right about the tissue and picked it off of his shoe and tossed it into the garbage before closing the door.

"Ew. Wash your hands." She smirked and pointed at the sink. "I came to get one of your delicious burgers and beg for my job back, so be nice. And the name's Brennan now."

Jackie grumbled, but went over and washed his hands, "You better have a good 'cuse for not calling since you wasn't dead."

"Avast ye scurvy seadog! RAWRK!" called the parrot from the front. Lissa made a face before hollering, "Be righ' thar te keelhaul ye, briny barnacle!" Her voice was softer and she was walking towards the door, "Much as I would like to hear this, I got a customer. Fire the grill Jackie!"

Brennan nodded, glad for once not to be working. "I'll tell ya later, Lissa." She turned her attention to Jackie, who was moving to see who it was entering and to fire the grill up. "I was almost dead in the hospital, Jackie. I got clipped running away." She rolled up her sleeve to show him the healing wound. "I went to a friend's house and he ended up taking me to the hospital. I stayed there for two weeks while they pumped me with pain killers and antibiotics. Been at his house recouping since the release. He was in the neighborhood, so I decided to drop by to see if I could beg my job back."

"And ye couldn'ta found time to call us to let us know you were aright? Mighty keen of you to drop by though. You came righ' in time. Was gonna fill yer spot soon." Jackie said softly in a growl. A dope head had come in to order. Only thing about a late night diner were the people that came in. Sometimes they were just old bag men that had nowhere else to go, or they could be trouble like this one.

"He was kind of watching me like a hawk to make sure I didn't run away. I couldn't exactly do any dialing. Besides, I didn't know the number." Brennan shrugged and went to the kitchen door to look out the porthole at the guy. She summed up the situation as well and crossed her arms. She was ready to burst out in a second if he laid a hand on her friend. He was already attempting to be come onto her and she was just taking his drink order. Nothing happened when she turned around and went back to the kitchen.

"The guy wants a drink. He's already drunk or high, and I told him no." Lissa said in an angry tone as she opened the doors. "So what's the-" she stopped as she looked at Brennan's arm. "Damn, never mind. That's explanation enough for me." She shrugged and started filling a cup with Sprite. "I'm gonna tell him its gin. You got my back, Bren?"

"Course." Brennan replied automatically, then looked over at Jackie and grinned, "'Long as Jackie says it's okay, though. I mean, wouldn't want to step on a captain's toes."

Jackie looked over at Lissa and they exchanged a glance before he looked back at Brennan. "Okay then. You're hired startin' tonight. Might want to pirate up those rags you have on though."

"Can I wear your eye patch and hat?" she questioned hopefully. She had already started rolling up her sleeves and pants legs to proudly show her scars. What's more pirate-like than scars, after all?

"Aye. Might as well, it'll help out that look ye got goin' on." He replied with a grin.

"Avast ye scurvy seadog! RAWRK!" hollered the parrot from the front, and Brennan looked through the porthole. _Oh crap. This is going to be FUN._ Finding her voice, she hollered, "Arrr ye landlubbers! A pirate'd be out in a few to keelhaul ye!" She plastered on a smile as she situated the eye patch and hat on her head. That parrot had heralded the entrance of Sebastian, Myrddin, and two mini-Myrddins.


	4. Chapter 4

The looks Sebastian and Myrddin had on their faces as she left the kitchen of Jackie's were priceless. With a cackle, she looked over at Lissa, who had started walking towards the quartet with a furious expression on her face. She was still carrying the dope's Sprite. "Hey Lissa, it's okay. I got 'em." Brennan started towards the four, but Lissa didn't stop.

"Brennan?" Sebastian asked in disbelief, his eyebrows high, then shook his head.

Myrddin cackled after the initial shock and looked over at the tall blond, "She's yours!"

"Mom!" the twins shrieked together and pounced on her before she got to Myrddin.

"What the... What are you doing here?!" Lissa hissed at Myrddin, even though she was stopped by the twins.

"Melissa!" Myrddin shrieked. He looked like he wanted to hide behind his boyfriend. Brennan smirked for a moment, then it hit her what he had called her. And the twins.

"Woah! Wait, Lissa is Melissa? Does that mean..." Brennan looked at the twins attached to her legs and her eyes widened. "NO WAY! The pink and purple punks?! They were yours? I thought they were your nephews!"

"Hey! Where's my drink!" The dope roared. Brennan looked over at the dope, then grabbed his drink from Lissa. "I got it. Go ahead and show these guys to a seat. I'll join you in a bit. Think we got lots to talk about." Turning her attention to the drunk, Brennan sauntered over there before slamming it down on the table. "Yer drank be boilin' o'er da rim, sir! Ha' a nice nigh'!" She turned but froze as she felt a hand grab her rear, she turned back just as quickly and snatched the hand from where it had been.

With a snarl, she squeezed his wrist, "Seems like ye wanna learn where mountain oysters come from. Suggest taking your hand off my wares, cause they ain't for sale." Letting go, she turned around and headed to where Melissa had led them, only to feel the dopehead put his hand on her rear end again. _Okay! I warned him!_ Like lightening, Brennan struck and whacked the dope in the forehead, snapping his head back and making him howl in pain. Dragging him out of his seat by the collar, she half dragged him out of the place. The other half he was struggling to keep up with her pace. She opened the diner doors and tossed him into the street and booted him in the rear. "STAY OUT UNTIL YOU LEARN TO KEEP YOUR HANDS TO YOURSELF!!"

With a huff, she walked back in and went to the kitchen to get a towel. "You saw what he did, Jackie. I gave him a warning before snapping."

"Yep." Jackie replied. "You know I could have handled that."

"Yeah, but what fun would that have been?" She was just starting to walk back out before she turned back around. "He's coming back in. Stupid asshat. Jackie, get your gun." She picked up one of the slicing knives and started to walk back out before Jackie pulled her back.

"No. Not this time." he said firmly. "There's kids."

Brennan growled, but nodded and put it down. "Fine. We'll do this your way." She left the kitchen with just the towel in her hand and walked over to where the dopehead had sat back down at the table with his Sprite. He didn't look the slightest bit sorry for grabbing her rear end and she forced a smile on her face. "Learn your lesson yet?" She saw the flash of the knife a second before he lunged at her. Her quickness surprised the dopehead and he went stumbling forward when he expected her flesh to meet the knife and instead met air. With him stumbling forward, it didn't take much to get his feet out from under him and have him flat on his stomach before Brennan pounced on him and sat on his back. She didn't need to know that Sebastian was on his way over the moment he had seen the knife slide across the floor.

"I warned you real nice, and then you try to cut me in front of kids. That's not very gentlemanly." she said in a low, patient voice.

"Slut! Whore! Don't think I don't recognize you! Little bitch!" The man kept cursing out obscenities and Brennan growled and slapped his head as she spoke.

"There. Are. Kids. Present. Watch. Your. Mouth." Then, on a hunch, she brought down the collar of his shirt and frowned. Sure enough, there was that old tattoo. R.L., with a red lizard eating its tail surrounding the letters. She felt her face twist and knew she was shaking._ Damnit, I thought we had got them all!_ Sebastian put his foot on the man and helped her up. He saw the tattoo, and knew what it meant, especially as she was shaking like a leaf and had an unmistakable look of hatred on her face.

"I'll take care of him, Brennan. Go on over with Melissa and the kids, and ask Myrddin to join me, would you?" Sebastian asked tonelessly. It was that same one he had used several years earlier. The one that begged no argument to what he was saying.

"Sure. I'll go tell Jackie not to call the cops, too." She headed to the kitchen as Sebastian hauled the fellow out the door and around the corner.

"Jackie, get off the phone. It's nothing, just a misunderstanding." Brennan said when she got into the kitchen. He wasn't anywhere to be seen and she knocked on the bathroom door. "Jackie? You in there?" she asked.

"Yup! Anything going on I should know about?" he replied.

"Not a thing except an order for a Castaway Special that's been on hold since I walked through the door. Come out and cook it for me?" She asked. Almost immediately the door opened and he stepped through it. She grinned and pointed at the sink, "Wash your hands." Turning, she walked out of the kitchen, went over and picked up to the discarded knife and pocketed it.

"Myrddin, go find Sebastian. He wants you." she smirked, knowing the words could be mistaken for a double entendre. She nodded at him, "Now. Go." She shook her head and looked at Melissa as Myrddin left the table. "I did warn him." She looked at the two kids, "And that is why you need to treat a girl with respect when you meet one. You never know when one will be able to beat the snot out of you." She turned her attention back to Melissa for a moment and looked over at the lone Sprite drink where the fellow was sitting. "I'll get that in a bit. So, these are the same two little guys you brought by last year?" She turned her attention to the twins, scrutinizing them. "They've grown so much! I didn't even recognize them when I saw them back at the apartment." She paused and grinned, "I think it's the hair."

Time passed with small chat passing the time until Sebastian and Myrddin returned. Alone. They slid in the booth and Sebastian gave the two women and kids a tight-lipped reassuring smile. "He sends his regards and apologies for his crude behavior and language. Now, where were we? Ah, yes. I wanted to ask. Brennan, why are you dressed like that?"

"I've worked here for a little over a year now, Sebastian. I had to come here and beg for my job back since I didn't show up for almost a month. Keeping busy keeps a person out of trouble, don't it?" Brennan shrugged.

"You might be getting into more working here than elsewhere," Sebastian said with a frown.

"It isn't always like this. It's usually a lot quieter." Melissa interjected.

"Which is why I like this shift." Brennan added. "Plus, I get to dress up in normal clothes. And if I worked in a bar, it'd be more of a hassle than it's worth. Ask Jackie sometime, I usually fall asleep on my shift."

Myrddin's eye twitched. "So, you've known Melissa for over a year, you've even met the twins, and yet you didn't recognize them at the apartment or recognize her name?"

"Hey! Last time I saw them, they had pink and purple hair. And they were shorter than they are now." Brennan rolled her eyes, "Lissa is how I know her. All our nametags are wrong. Mine was Quin with two Ns until I scratched off one, which gave her the idea to scratch off the E before Lissa on hers. It just never occurred to me that Lissa was short for something."

"Yeah, it isn't exactly like we call each other after work and hang out. I have the twins, and she doesn't have a phone." Melissa added.

"What happens at work, stays at work." Brennan nodded in agreement. "It's like Vegas without the machines and fake weddings." She added a little laugh and smirked, pointing at the twins, "They're asleep! And we also usually work separate shifts, hers in the day, me at night."

"Yeah. For obvious reasons." Melissa said looking at the twins with a smile. "They're faking though. They're going to see if we talk about grown-up stuff while they're sitting here. Aren't you, boys?" With the grownups looking at them and their cover blown, they opened their eyes with sheepish grins.

"How'd you know, Mom?" one asked. The other crossed his arms in rebellion, refusing to look too contrite.

"Tobias Michel Vaughn. I am your mother. I just know these things. Morgan Paul, don't give me that look. Besides, after what just happened, d'you really think I'd believe you'd fall asleep?" Melissa smirked. "I want to know why you're out way past your bedtime."

"I want to know why they didn't remember me. I thought I did good with "Leper Girl" last year. They sure were scared of me when I tried giving them hugs." Brennan grinned sheepishly and shrugged. "And I'm the reason they're out. Invited them to come, they didn't say you were their Mom though."

"Did you really expect them to?" Melissa rolled her eyes. The twins were smirking at Brennan and they stuck their tongues out at her.

"You weren't that scary." Morgan said, looking smug.

"We were just humoring you." Tobias added, mirroring his brother.

"Cheeky little monkeys, aren't you?" Brennan smirked back, then paused and looked over at the kitchen. "I'm going to see what's takin' my burger. Jackie's not normally this slow." She lifted her knees between the table and herself and stood up in the seat and crawled over the back to get to the free booth behind them and jumped off of that seat before walking off towards the table and cleaning it off of the Sprite glass and water ring with her towel before heading into the kitchen.

Sebastian was somewhat lost in this conversation after his initial question. Myrddin seemed to be more relieved that the focus wasn't on him now, in any case. He unconsciously reached for Myrddin's hand and began rubbing it soothingly under the table. _We'll have to dispose of that fellow's body. Cremation this time, or in one of the crypts in the cemetery?_ he mused. _Cremation we use a lot more often than I would like, but it is less conspicuous than opening a crypt and finding a body tossed in_. Brennan left by climbing over the seats because he and Myrddin were on her side. He didn't think she was in earshot when he looked at Melissa, "Leper girl? Do I want to know what her costume consisted of?"

"Yeah. She-" Melissa began.

"Looked horrible!" Tobias cut his mom off.

"Had sores all over her body!" Morgan added. They began taking turns at telling the sentence again, but it was still understandable.

"There was blood and-"

"Gore and-"

"She said it-"

"Was contagious!"

"I heard that!" Brennan called from the kitchen.

Melissa rolled her eyes. "No you didn't!" she called back. She looked at Sebastian and Myrddin, speaking in a normal tone. "Kitchen doesn't get good sound from out here. She can't hear a word, she's just saying that."

"What was that?" Brennan called back from the kitchen. Melissa gave them an "I told you so" look.

"Yeah, it was really horrible. That girl has a really sick imagination. And Jackie couldn't say anything because she was still a pirate - a leprous pirate, but still a pirate. Oh, she rubbed that one in his face good that night." Melissa chuckled softly.

The lights suddenly went off, then flickered back on in sections until only the ones near the group were illuminated. Brennan came out of the kitchen holding a key ring and went to the front door and locked one door and turned the sign around to "Closed." She walked back over swinging the keys, an annoyed look on her face. "Jackie jetted. You might as well go back to your apartment and try to wrangle Toby and Morgs to bed. I'll swab the decks." She turned to look at Sebastian. "I'll just walk to my apartment from here. It's not that far."

Melissa made a face that mirrored Brennan's own. "That's weird. Wonder why..."

"Yeah. I don't know, either. Seeing an aah... " she paused, looking at the kids, then said, "a wipe getting kicked out doesn't normally upset him." Brennan sighed. "See ya Lissa." She nodded at them before turning around and headed back into the kitchen to get it cleaned up.

After several minutes of whining later and a few firm looks from their mother, the twins slid out from the booth as Sebastian and Myrddin stood standing in wait. The smell of undiluted bleach reached Sebastian and Myrddin's noses, but Melissa and the kids seemed oblivious as they left with the two men in tow. At the last moment, Sebastian paused and looked towards the kitchen. His hesitance tugged at Myrddin's hand and Myrddin looked up at Sebastian.

"You want to stay, don't you?" Myrddin asked softly, bringing Sebastian's hand to his lips and kissing it. He scraped it lightly with the fangs still extended from drinking the criminal's blood, turning Sebastian's attention to the light pain.

"Hmm... yes." Sebastian said softly. "I don't trust her just yet. Especially after finding out..."

"That she works here and enjoys it?" Myrddin scoffed. "Yeah. Don't blame you." Sebastian lifted Myrddin's head gently and kissed his lover lightly on the lips, darting his tongue in between his teeth teasing his tongue before licking his lover's teeth. He drew Myrddin in close and broke the kiss to look towards Melissa and the twins. They were disappearing fast down the street.

"You still have blood on your teeth, that's why they aren't retracting. Go catch up with them. Make sure they get back safely." Sebastian whispered before squeezing Myrddin's rear with one hand and then patting it to get him to move towards Melissa and the twins. With stealth granted to him along with his immortality, Myrddin hurried along to catch up with his progeny while Sebastian turned around to tend his own.

When he walked into the kitchen, he was surprised to find Brennan swabbing the floor. It was obvious she was not pleased by her tense posture and jerky movements. Her back was to the door, so he couldn't see her expression, but he was sure it was the ugliest expression he could imagine. For some reason, that idea made him smile. He slid over to the counter and watched her for a few minutes.

"A leper pirate girl?" Sebastian questioned finally.

"I don't go running to you each time I skin my knees. It wasn't nothing." Brennan didn't turn around or stop in her strokes across the floor. Her voice sounded muffled for some reason.

"Wasn't anything or was nothing. Wasn't nothing is a double negative." Sebastian said automatically before continuing. "I seem to recall you saying a certain beating was 'nothing' as well. Was this one anything like that one?"

Brennan paused, then shook her head, continuing her strokes, before muttering. "Grammar nazi." She sighed, moving onto another spot to swab. "No. This wasn't anything like that. It was one on one." Her voice was still muffled, and Sebastian was getting annoyed by her not looking him in the eyes.

"Brennan, turn around please." She growled, but stopped her swabbing and turned to face him. It looked like she had stepped from a sci-fi pirate movie - she had on a face mask and goggles under the pirate hat. He looked at her a moment, then smirked. She raised her finger, her eyes storming furiously.

"Not one word, Sebastian. Not a single word. I have to clean the kitchen and the tables, then I'm out of here. I don't want to talk." She went back to swabbing the floor, stabbing at under his feet with the mop. He hopped onto the counter as she did this, wrinkling his nose at the scent of bleach.

"I thought you said this was an all-night diner?" He said, breaking the washing silence. It was strange she didn't seem to mind the silence, and only looked annoyed when he broke it.

"Yeah. Normally Jackie don't leave until Booster gets here. He's the day shift cook." Brennan said lowly, turning away from him and dipping the sponge mop in the chlorine solution again. She picked up the bucket and carefully walked past him to the diner waddling with it and making sure none of the water spilled. She slipped on rubber gloves and grabbed a rag, dipping it in the solution and beginning to rub down tables and seats.

Sebastian let her work in silence, following her into the eating portion of the diner. Finally he couldn't stand the silence any longer. "Will you tell me what it was about?"

"Eh, it wasn't anything major, like I said. I don't even remember what it was about, honestly. There were only a few bruises originally, but Halloween is a time to get dressed up, so I made a lot of scabs myself out of some putty and fake blood." Brennan replied, shrugging. She was wiping down the tables really quickly, a steady hand guiding the rag along its path on the tables and seats.

"You go looking for trouble, don't you?" Sebastian said quietly, watching her.

"Are you kidding? Of course I don't." Brennan scoffed for a moment, shaking her head and looking at him. "Trouble comes looking for me and finds me. I just finish what it starts."


End file.
